Family solidarity in a rapidly changing society – Psychological perspectives

Time: Friday, 14 July, 9:00-10:30

Chair: Dieter Ferring, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, LuxembourgIntroduction:
Rapid political and social changes in a globalised world characterise the challenges of European societies. The notion of family solidarity is of a high importance in ageing populations that demand increasing investments in health and care provision in many European societies. This symposium – linked to a COST Action on Intergenerational Family Solidarity across Europe (InterFaSol) – highlights family solidarity out of the perspective of different theoretical approaches and offers empirical findings from four European countries. Continue reading INTERFASOL symposium at the European Congress of Psychology→

During Interfasol meeting in Dublin (Nov., 15-16, 2016) Prof. Zviad Kirtava (Tbilisi State Medical University / Partners for Health NGO) made a presentation to participants about ICT and e-Health applications for benefit of Interfasol research.

The Meeting took place at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. The meeting included the exchange and an upgrade about administrative issues as well as an exchange about ongoing activities, training school and short term scientific mission on the first day. The four working groups met on the second day of the meeting and presented their findings and strategies in a plenary afternoon session. Here, it became evident that all groups made a significant progress: concrete steps to reach the specific goals of each group have in part been realized and future activities for the next six months were arranged. The highlight of the third day was the 1. International Conference on Intergenerational Family Solidarity Across Europe. The conference started with keynote of Professor Federico Perali who gave an excellent comparative overview of the economic factors and dynamics underlying family solidarity in Europe. This was followed by four symposia reflecting on different issues of INTERFASOL (e.g., support exchanges between generations, transmission of values in families, migration and solidarity) as well as a poster session that presented projects of the STSM candidates (see programme).

Prof. Camillo Regalia (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan), organizer of the 1st INTERFASOL Conference shares his impressions about the conference at Catholic University of the Sacred Hear, Milan, May 26, 2016.

The Core Group Meeting took place in Madrid on October 6, 2015 at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. After the welcome by the Chair (Prof. Anne Marie Fontaine), the Grant Holder representative (Karina Gonçalves) has introduced the issues of the Support for financial matters and Work and Budget Plan management of the annual budget. Then, the members have discussed the Implementation of the Work Plan for the 2nd Grant Period, including the collaboration between WG – Dissemination overview, as well as the types of outcomes and deliverables for the 2nd grant period. Dieter Ferring and Willy Lahaye have presented the STSM and TS experience. The participants have also discussed the next INTERFASOL meetings, as well as other topics, such as the inclusion of new members, diffusion strategies and promotion of shared research projects.

The Interfasol network continues to publish series of short interviews with key stakeholders, scholars and policy makers about important aspects of intergenerational family solidarity.

We would like to present a statement on Intergenerational Family Solidarity on National, European and International Level by Ms. Rosette Farrugia-Bonello, Research and Programme Manager at the International Institute of Ageing (INIA), United Nations, Valletta, Malta. www.inia.org.mt

We wish to acknowledge George (Gino) Pavia, member of the Interfasol, and Maria Aurora Fenech (University of Malta), who have been instrumental in contacting the key stakeholders in Malta.

COST Action IS1311 Intergenerational Family Solidarity across Europe

Societies are urgently required to develop mechanisms, programmes and policies that will foster and nurture solidarity between the young, middle and older generations. Although there is growing activism in this field, our understanding of the benefits gained by different generations from the same family in distinct settings, such as in education, work, health and human development, is disaggregated and understudied and requires an interdisciplinary knowledge interchange and coordination between European countries.

This Action’s goal is to synchronize, integrate and improve European research in the field of intergenerational family solidarity, its benefits in key life domains and the ways in which it can be strengthened across generations. The knowledge exchange will improve the interdisciplinary communication between researchers from different countries to advance research in the field, and will promote exchange between research, practice and policies. The Action launches a series of activities that includes an workgroups, scientific meetings, training visits and publications.